On the Fringe: Some of the Sects and Cults on the Boundries of Society

The universe was born in an isolated village in Northern Iraqi called Lalish. So believe the Kurdish people of the region who practice what they insist is the world's oldest religion.

The spelling of the religion can vary, Yazidi, Yezidi, Ezidi. Translating a Kurdish word through Arabic into English is difficult. Most practitioners will say that the name is also the word for God.

The roots of this religion are buried in pre-history but it is intimately tied to the Kurdish population of the Middle East. Scholars see influences of many religions that swept through the region in the practice and theology of Yezidism, from the ancient cult of Mithras through Christianity and Islam.

After He created the world, the Yezidis believe, God gave its care over to seven archangels. The chief angel, Melek, was given his post when he refused to submit to Adam. For believers in Islam, this suggests that the Yezidis worship the devil, Satan, who did not submit in their religion.

The Yezedis have been persecuted for many years in Iraq and have only gained security with the creation of the Kurdish Autonomous Region.

Another sect struggling to survive are the Branch Davidians. This offshoot of the Seventh Day Adventists was headed by the infamous David Koresh in 1993 when a series of events led to the FBI and other police agencies surrounding their headquarters near Waco, Texas. The siege ended on April 19 with a horrific fire that resulted in the deaths of nearly everyone in the compound.

The Branch Davidians separated from the Seventh Day Adventists in the 1930's. Like many reform movements, it sought reveal secrets that had be suppressed and purify its members. A variety of leaders proclaimed the end times, and claimed to be prophets and biblical kings. In reality, the sect was reduced to brawling and criminal pursuits. In the late 1980's the sect experienced some growth and its then leader, Vernon Howell , changed his name to David Koresh.

The sect survives, in several forms. Some believers still follow the teachings of Koresh. Others have tried to return to the reformist roots of the sect, with its belief in the immediacy of the end times. The sect, in all forms, may have only two or three dozen members.

Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia is the center of one of the most unusual sects in existence. For those who practice the religion of Rastafari, he is the second coming of Christ. Born in Jamaica in the 1930's, Rastafarians practice an informal religion, with few rules and little theology.

The tenets of the sect are strongly related to black nationalism and Afro-centricism. Jesus is believed to have been black. The white West is seen to have suppressed that fact and black people in general for its own profit. Believers will have portraits of Haile Selassie in various iconic styles on their walls and in their procession.

Rasta often have a unique hairstyle. They hold a belief that the use of marijuana is sacramental and holy. It is a sect that is very attractive to poseurs because of its drug use and general disdain for the current structure of society.

Several times a year, the ancient site of Stonehenge is the site of religious ceremonies practiced by self-proclaimed Druids. Druids were the priests of the inhabitants of the British Isles when the Romans arrived. In modern times, a number of people have taken up the practices of that extinct religion, and embellished them where original practices were not documented. The use of Celtic languages such as Welsh and Gaelic is common.

Druids practice a variety of paganism. They see the world around them as filled with spirits of all types, in the air, the plants, the rocks. In addition, they recognize certain pagan gods, the Earth Mother and the Horned One as examples. There is no one source for theology or practice. Debate among believers is often active and energetic.

Modern Druidism can be traced to the late 1700's. As with many fraternal societies establish in that era, it was originally a male only society. As time passed and society changed, women entered the movement. Most groups have a hierarchy of ranks, and growth in the religion is based on ascending in rank by study and practice.

After a decades long fight, Druids won the right to conduct services at Stonehenge on the various solar solstices.

The Raëlian movement is a sect with few roots in any religious tradition. Its belief that man was put on Earth by extraterrestrials is an unusual belief. The religion was founded in 1974 and is found internationally. Believers follow a lifestyle that rejects drugs, tobacco, coffee and limits alcohol use.

One of the attractions of Raëlism is its strong belief in sensuality. It takes a very liberal view of sexuality and sex is practiced by some believers as an art.

One of the most significant aspects of the Raëlians is their presence in high tech and bio tech industries. This religion does not reject science or technology as many others do but embraces it strongly. Indeed, the believers reject the notion of the supernatural, including a god. They are at the heart of several claims that humans have been cloned.